Milwaukee, WI- It was a tale of two halves for the Cleveland State men’s basketball team on Friday at Milwaukee. The Vikings got off to a great start but could not sustain it as Milwaukee came from behind to win 88-80 at UWM Panther Arena. The loss drops Cleveland State to 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the Horizon League. Milwaukee improves to 9-8 and 4-2.
Cleveland State scored seven of the game’s first eight points and built a lead as high as 19 points in the first half. Milwaukee erased the deficit with a 14-0 run to start the second half to seize the momentum and ultimately come away with the win.
Cleveland State finished with four players in double figures led by Tristan Enaruna and Tevin Smith who tallied 20 points each. Smith set a new season high and finished three points shy of his career high in scoring. He connected on 6-of-10 from the field including 3-of-4 three-point attempts. He also finished a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Enaruna recorded his seventh game of 20 or more points and his second in a row. He fell one rebound shy of a second consecutive double-double finishing with nine rebounds.
Tae Williams (17) and Jayson Woodrich (13) were the other Vikings who finished in double figures. Cleveland State shot 40 percent from the field and committed just five turnovers in the contest.
Cleveland State led for over 30 minutes of game action, including the entire first half. The Vikings shot a blistering 50 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and carried a 47-36 lead into the halftime locker room.
Milwaukee flipped the script in the second half, opening with the 14-0 run that turned an 11-point deficit into its first lead of the game at 50-47 just under four minutes into the half.
The two teams went back and forth through the middle part of the second half until Cleveland State appeared to have the upper hand with eight minutes remaining. Williams threw down a breakaway dunk off a Milwaukee turnover to make it 67-61 Vikings.
Milwaukee responded to take the lead back with 5:47 remaining, and the Panthers quickly stretched the lead to five points with baskets on back-to-back possessions. Cleveland State was able to trim the deficit to one possession several times down the stretch, but Milwaukee responded each time with a bucket to keep the Vikings at arm’s length.
The Vikings continue their road swing through the State of Wisconsin with a matchup at Green Bay on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EST. Hear the game on Fox Sports 1350 The Gambler
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